Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes
400 Recipes for Poultry, Meat, Seafood, and Vegetables
by Jim Tarantino

Reviewed by Rachel Levin

Marinade guru Jim Tarantino, a five-string banjo player from Philadelphia, brings his philosophy of musical improvisation to the grilling enthusiast’s kitchen. The secret to great marinades, he says, is not cleaving precisely to a recipe, but rather stocking your pantry with core ingredients and your crisper with fresh vegetables, then inventing flavor combinations and substitutions as the spirit moves you. First, though, you’ve got to know something about food science, and Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes parses out the distinctions between these preparations and explains how and why they work to infuse grilled foods with flavor.

Just because Tarantino encourages improvising doesn’t mean he skimps on recipes. The 400 recipes travel from the American South and Southwest to Latin America, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Asia. For each region, the book provides a list of pantry staples and basic rubs and marinades, then applies them to various local meats, fish and vegetables. From the South, apricot-glazed ribs with Dr. Pepper paste definitely dip into the American pantry. Asparagus gets the Mediterranean treatment with sherry-hazelnut marinade. Lamb and beef take a Turkish bath of onion and garlic from the Middle East. Asian-style tea-brined duck is a nod to the Far East. With a guide to chiles; recipes for accompaniments like salsas, salads and chutneys; and adaptations for the indoor chef, Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes is an ideal manual for year-round grilling adventures.

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